# Mayfair, Philadelphia

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Neighborhood of Philadelphia in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, United States

Mayfair Neighborhood of Philadelphia The intersection of Frankford and Cottman Avenues in Mayfair Mayfair Country United States State Pennsylvania County Philadelphia County City Philadelphia Area codes 215, 267 and 445

**Mayfair** is a working class neighborhood in lower [Northeast Philadelphia](/source/Northeast_Philadelphia), [Pennsylvania](/source/Pennsylvania), United States, centered on the intersection of [Cottman](/source/Pennsylvania_Route_73) and [Frankford Avenues](/source/U.S._Route_13_in_Pennsylvania).[1] It is bordered by [Tacony](/source/Tacony%2C_Philadelphia) and [Wissinoming](/source/Wissinoming%2C_Philadelphia) to the south and east, [Holmesburg](/source/Holmesburg%2C_Philadelphia) to the east, [Pennypack Park](/source/Pennypack_Park) to the north, and [Oxford Circle](/source/Oxford_Circle%2C_Philadelphia) and [Rhawnhurst](/source/Rhawnhurst%2C_Philadelphia) to the west.[2] Mayfair is historically home to a large [Irish American](/source/Irish_American) population, but more recently has seen accelerated growth of [Asian American](/source/Asian_American), Hispanic, Russian and mid eastern population.[3][*[failed verification](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability)*]

The street borders are the north side of Harbison Avenue to the south. The eastern border is the west side of Frankford Avenue. The east side of Roosevelt Boulevard is the border to the west. It also borders the west side of Frankford Avenue, from Harbison Avenue up to Cottman Avenue but both sides of Frankford Avenue from Cottman Avenue to Sheffield Avenue. It borders on the west side of Rhawn street at the intersection of Frankford and Rhawn. Mayfair borders the Holmesburg neighborhood to the north and east, but the borders between that neighborhood are not clearly defined and often disputed, as are the borders with other surrounding neighborhoods.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It is named after the [Mayfair](/source/Mayfair) district in [London](/source/London).[4]

## History

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Mayfair Diner

Before development in the 1920s, Mayfair was essentially farmland and home to The Edwin Forrest Home for Children (near present-day Frankford and Shelmire Avenue) and The Oxford and Lower Dublin Poor House (west of present-day Rowland and Sheffield Aves). First established in 1929, Mayfair came to fruition in the years following [World War II](/source/World_War_II) as a community that provided fresher and more spacious living in an urban environment.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It was constructed over farmland surrounded by the established neighborhoods of [Tacony](/source/Tacony%2C_Philadelphia), [Holmesburg](/source/Holmesburg) and [Fox Chase](/source/Fox_Chase%2C_Philadelphia). Mayfair featured several groundbreaking concepts for city dwellers: bigger [rowhouses](/source/Terraced_house) with parking garages in the back. The [automobile](/source/Automobile) became the primary mode of transportation and shopping retail centers became available close to home, as shopping districts developed along [Roosevelt Boulevard](/source/U.S._Route_1_in_Pennsylvania#Roosevelt_Boulevard_to_New_Jersey), Frankford Avenue and Cottman Avenue. Development also served to connect the surrounding neighborhoods of the Northeast that had previously been isolated. Development in Mayfair was a forerunner to American [suburbanization](/source/Suburbanization), an early part of the population shift from the inner city to its outer regions.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Education

Residents are zoned to the [School District of Philadelphia](/source/School_District_of_Philadelphia).

The [Ethan Allen School](/source/Ethan_Allen_School) and [Edwin Forrest School](/source/Edwin_Forrest_School) are listed on the [National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places).[5] Mayfair Elementary School is also in Mayfair.

Ethan Allen and Mayfair elementary are [K-8 schools](/source/K-8_schools), while Edwin Forrest-zoned students go onto Austin Meehan Middle.[6] Students zoned to Austin Meehan, Ethan Allen, and Mayfair are also zoned to [Abraham Lincoln High School](/source/Abraham_Lincoln_High_School_(Philadelphia)).[7]

Lincoln High was originally scheduled to be named Mayfair High School, but opposition from other neighborhoods meant that the school was instead named after Abraham Lincoln. Mayfair residents had a negative reception to this change. In 1949 the school's cornerstone was laid. Mayfair Elementary School also opened in 1949.[8]

## Population

As of the 2010 census, the tracts covering most of Mayfair[9] had a population of 38,202 people, 56% White, 19% African American, 16% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 2% Two or more races, and 2% Other and mostly in owner-occupied [rowhouses](/source/Terraced_house).[10] Over the last two decades investors have bought up the housing stock to accommodate Section 8 housing turning the neighborhood into a mostly rental population.

Mayfair is widely known for its association with [Irish-American](/source/Irish-American) culture. During the 2000 census, 14,682 people noted Irish ancestry, including 11,100 who claimed it as their primary ancestry. Other claimed ancestries of note were [German](/source/German-American) (7,069), [Italian](/source/Italian_American) (6,067), [Polish](/source/Polish_American) (3,512), and [English](/source/English_American) (2,442).[11] Like most of the city's Northeast, since 2000, the area has seen an increase in immigrants from [Russia](/source/Russia) as well as an increase in non-European immigrants and non-European Americans, with the integration of immigrants from various [Asian](/source/Asia) countries, [Arabs](/source/Arab_Americans), [Blacks](/source/African_American) and [Hispanic Americans](/source/Hispanic_Americans) in the communities.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Philadelphia Neighborhoods and Place Names, L-P](http://www.phila.gov/PHILS/DOCS/otherinfo/pname2.htm), Finkel, Kenneth. *Philadelphia Almanac and Citizens' Manual*. Library Company of Philadelphia. (via Philadelphia City Archives)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** The street borders are Harbison to the south, Frankford Avenue to the east, Roosevelt Boulevard to the west. It also Borders Cottman Avenue on the west side of Frankford Avenue, but on both sides of Frankford Avenue from Cottman Avenue to Sheffield Avenue. It borders the Holmesburg neighborhood to the north and east, but the borders between that neighborhood are not clearly defined and often disputed, as are borders with some other surrounding neighborhoods. [Philadelphia NIS NeighborhoodBase](http://cml.upenn.edu/nbase/) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20010713034611/http://cml.upenn.edu/nbase/) 2001-07-13 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania)'s Cartographic Modeling Lab.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [\[1\]](https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/mayfair-philadelphia-pa/residents/), Niche Mayfair Demographics and Statistics.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Winberg, Michaela (July 6, 2018). ["How 43 Philly neighborhoods got their names"](http://billypenn.com/2018/07/06/how-43-philly-neighborhoods-got-their-names/). *Billy Penn at WHYY*. Retrieved June 2, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-nris_5-0)** ["National Register Information System"](https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP). *[National Register of Historic Places](/source/National_Register_of_Historic_Places)*. [National Park Service](/source/National_Park_Service). July 9, 2010.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** "[Edwin Forrest Elementary School Geographic Boundaries](https://webapps.philasd.org/sp_files/boundary_maps/8250.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222239/https://webapps.philasd.org/sp_files/boundary_maps/8250.pdf) 2016-03-03 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)." [School District of Philadelphia](/source/School_District_of_Philadelphia). Retrieved on December 10, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2017admissions_7-0)** "[High School Directory Fall 2017 Admissions](http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/3u/OZ/3uOZaCxa60P-JNsu42DbPg/HS-Directory-2017.pdf)" ([Archive](https://web.archive.org/web/20161107165127/http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/uploads/3u/OZ/3uOZaCxa60P-JNsu42DbPg/HS-Directory-2017.pdf)). [School District of Philadelphia](/source/School_District_of_Philadelphia). p. 42/70. Retrieved on December 10, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Loftus, John (January 28, 2015). ["Changes in the classroom"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150801004051/http://www.northeasttimes.com/2015/jan/28/changes-classroom/). *[Northeast Times](/source/Northeast_Times)*. Archived from the original on August 1, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2016.{{[cite news](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Cite_news)}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown ([link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_bot:_original_URL_status_unknown))

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Philadelphia County, 2010 Census Tracts [315](http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/72/116722472.gif)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], [316](http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/13/116722513.gif)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], [330](http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/33/116722433.gif)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], [331](http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/00/116721500.gif)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*], [332](http://factfinder.census.gov/leg1/56/116722456.gif)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [American Census U.S. Census website](https://www.census.gov) – Decennial Census Data Set – Census 20Summary File 1: tables P3, H14

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** American Census Factfinder – Decennial Census Data Set – Census 2000 Summary File 3: tables PCT16, 17, 18.

## External links

- [Mayfair Community Development Corporation](http://www.mayfaircdc.org/)

- [Mayfair Civic Association](http://www.mayfaircivicassociation.com/)

- [\[2\]](http://www.mayfairpresbyterianchurch.com) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120503011300/http://mayfairpresbyterianchurch.com/) 2012-05-03 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

v t e Communities of Philadelphia Former municipalities are below. Sections and Neighborhoods Center City Avenue of the Arts Broad Street Chinatown Fitler Square Franklin Square Jewelers' Row Logan Square Old City Penn's Landing Rittenhouse Square Society Hill South Street Washington Square West South Bella Vista Central South Philadelphia Devil's Pocket Dickinson Square West East Passyunk Crossing Fabric Row FDR Park Girard Estate Grays Ferry Greenwich Hawthorne Italian Market Little Saigon Lower Moyamensing Marconi Plaza Moyamensing Newbold Packer Park Passyunk Square Pennsport Point Breeze Queen Village Southwark Southwest Center City Sports Complex West Passyunk Wharton Whitman Wilson Park Southwest Angora Bartram Village Clearview Eastwick Elmwood Park Hog Island Kingsessing Mount Moriah Paschall Southwest Schuylkill West Avenue of Technology Belmont Village Carroll Park Cathedral Park Centennial District Cedar Park Cobbs Creek Dunlap Garden Court Haddington Haverford North Mantua Mill Creek Overbrook Overbrook Farms Overbrook Park Parkside Powelton Village Saunders Park Spruce Hill Squirrel Hill 30th Street Station University City Walnut Hill Woodland Terrace Wynnefield Wynnefield Heights North Lower North Badlands Belfield Brewerytown Callowhill Cecil B. Moore El Centro de Oro / Fairhill Fairmount Francisville Hartranft Ivy Hill Ludlow N3RD Street North Central Northern Liberties North Philadelphia East North Philadelphia West Poplar Sharswood South Lehigh Spring Garden Stanton Strawberry Mansion Yorktown Upper North Allegheny West Badlands Franklinville Glenwood Hunting Park Nicetown–Tioga Olde Kensington Swampoodle West Kensington Olney-Oak Lane East Oak Lane Feltonville Fern Rock Koreatown Logan Ogontz Olney West Oak Lane Northwest Lower Northwest Andorra East Falls Manayunk Parkland Roxborough Wissahickon Upper Northwest Beggarstown Cedarbrook Chestnut Hill Germantown Morton Mount Airy Wister Northeast Near Northeast Burholme Castor Gardens Crescentville Fox Chase Frankford Holme Circle Holmesburg Juniata Lawndale Lexington Park Mayfair Oxford Circle Rhawnhurst Ryers Tacony Wissinoming Far Northeast Academy Gardens Ashton-Woodenbridge Bustleton Byberry Crestmont Farms Millbrook Modena Park Morrell Park Normandy Parkwood Pennypack Somerton Torresdale Upper Holmesburg Winchester Park River Wards Bridesburg Fishtown Harrowgate Kensington Olde Richmond Port Richmond Former Municipalities Cities Philadelphia (Center City) Boroughs Aramingo Bridesburg Frankford Germantown Manayunk West Philadelphia Whitehall Districts Belmont Kensington Moyamensing Northern Liberties Penn Richmond Southwark Spring Garden Townships Blockley Bristol Byberry Delaware Germantown Kingsessing Lower Dublin Moreland Northern Liberties Oxford Passyunk Penn Roxborough Footnotes As a consolidated city-county Philadelphia is its own county seat.

- [\[3\]](http://philadelphianeighborhoods.com/2014/06/02/mayfair-five-places-you-need-to-know/)

- [\[4\]](http://www.bobbyhenon.com/split)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mayfair, Philadelphia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfair%2C_Philadelphia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfair%2C_Philadelphia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.